Food

What To Do — Your Child's Nutrition

Give your child a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables daily.

Vegetables are the heart of an excellent nutritional program.They contain vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.
Phytonutrients are chemical compounds that come from edible plants and fruits.
Green leafy vegetables are the most important and often the most neglected vegetable. Common green leafy vegetables are spinach, chard, beet greens, chrysanthemum greens, etc. These should be lightly steamed to retain their high nutrient value. Spinach should never be served raw. Try to serve two to three servings of these vegetables daily.

Many vegetables may be eaten raw. Raw vegetables are very nutritious. Little children may not be able to chew well enough to eat raw vegetables easily or safely. In this case, “liquid salad” can be delicious. Take fresh, raw vegetables like carrots, radish, tomato, and watercress and make a refreshing juice for your child.
Vegetables come in many colors. A very good way of being sure that you are providing a nutrient-rich menu is to make sure that you offer a variety of colors each day. Try to insure that there are at least three different colors of vegetables in every meal you prepare. Your child will benefit greatly from the variety.
It is important to rotate food. Mothers naturally want to please their children and, in an effort to do so, they many serve the favored foods over and over again. Children can be rigid and insist on the same foods. This creates a narrow nutritional program and an unhealthy situation. Ideally the same vegetables should not be repeated more than every four days.
Organically grown local vegetables are the very best. If you need help and inspiration to find the best source of organically grown fruits and vegetables near you there are many wonderful web sites to help you. To begin try localharvest.org. There are many different classes of vegetables, and each one is special in its own right. Listed are the different classes and their most important components:
* Brassicas (green leafy vegetables): This includes broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, spinach, Swiss chard, collard greens.
* Roots: This includes carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, celery, horseradish, potato, turnips and Jerusalem artichokes.
* Pumpkin and squashes: These include winter squashes (acorn, butternut and pumpkin); and summer squashes (zucchini, patty pan, squash and cucumber.)
* Shoots: Includes fennel, endive, celery and Globe artichokes.
* Vegetable fruits: Includes tomato, eggplant, and many varieties of chili peppers, avocado, and bell peppers.
* Pods and seeds: These include peas, five beans, green beans and corn.
* The onion family: Onions, garlic and leeks.
* Mushrooms: There are many varieties of mushrooms.
* Salad greens: A variety of lettuces, radicchio, arugula, sorrel and watercress.

From : Glenn Doman eNewsletter - Volume 2